The New Mexico Supreme Court has appointed a Reengineering Commission to examine how the courts might better serve New Mexico. The commission is composed of court personnel as well as attorneys, members of the public and business community, legislators and others.
This effort is being supported, with no New Mexico funds being spent, by experts from the National Center for State Courts (NCSC).
Right now, the NCSC is conducting a survey to identify areas that might lead to improvements in the courts. Anyone who is interested can go to the judicial website, http://www.nmcourts.gov/index.php, and click on “Please Participate in the NM Reengineering Commission Survey.” The site is also the first listed website in a Google search for “New Mexico courts.”
All responses go directly to the NCSC, and the identity of the respondent is confidential. Responses must be received by the end of this Friday, March 4, 2011.
The survey asks respondents to select from a range of answers and takes less than 10 minutes to complete, unless the respondent takes more time than that to add optional text responses. The commission’s next meeting will be on March 24, and there it will consider the survey responses reported by the NCSC and determine what specific areas to look at closely in order to decide what changes would most benefit the courts and the public.
All ideas will be considered and respondents are encouraged to “think outside the box” about how the courts can operate efficiently and effectively in the 21st century. Thank you to all who take the time to respond!
Pepin is the director of the state’s Administrative Office of the Courts. If you have questions, you can contact him at (505) 827-4802 or aocawp@nmcourts.gov, or call his assistant, Barbara Gay, at (505) 476-1000.